Need Help. Major Stress.

[dmiller0704]

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I am interested in veterinary medicine (DVM) and am already 27 years old. I have done some prerequisites for the veterinary career path, but I am finding out that I am having a hard time with retaining information with science classes. Especially chemistry. I'm trying very hard, and at this point in my life would HATE to waste any more time trying to do something else. My dreams have always revolved around being a Veterinarian but I feel kind of defeated, my math skills are ok, not the best. I don't want to be a vet tech or assistant (nothing wrong with those but not my dream....) but, I know I would hate it. I want to one day own my own clinic and have my dreams of veterinary medicine come true...

Does anyone have any tips? I'm lost and I want to pick myself up and just do it......... Also, does anyone have any idea why Univ. Of Florida requires both Stats and Calc but most other schools you can choose either?

I think my goal is to go to St. Georges in Grenada or Ross because I would love to study abroad and just not have the added stress of cold weather etc.....

So if anyone is out there...please help....please don't be sarcastic, I really don't need that right now.

David

 

[shortnsweet]

I think you need to take a step back and re-evaluate.

1: 27 is not old. Plenty of vet students start later in life
2: Grades aren't everything, but you need to be solid in science classes. Retaining information is key to being successful IN vet school as well. How bad is bad? If you look at the successful apps stats, you can see that a lower GPA isn't the end of the world, but you need to have the experience and drive to make up for it. You also need to be able to show them that you can handle a science heavy workload.

 

[TooLove]

We have a handful of people older than you in our class. It's never too late!

You might need to reevaluate your study habits if you're having trouble recalling the information. How are your grades so far?

For what it's worth, I remember very little from chemistry. 🙂

 

[that redhead]

My biggest question after reading this is: how much veterinary experience do you have? It seems like 99% of people wanting to go into vet med place a huge emphasis on the fact that it has always been their dream - which is fine - but don't have a very clear understanding of what this dream entails. Have you explored more than just the field of small animal medicine? Have you considered things like debt:salary ratio? Why do you want to be a vet (other than "I love animals and it's always been my dream"?) What about being a technician would you hate?

Struggling in science courses is not the be-all end-all to your aspirations, but you will need to learn how to learn that material and succeed. Vet school is just more science classes at a much faster pace. It is possible to get into vet school with a lower GPA but it's a rough uphill battle (believe me!)

 

[LetItSnow]

We have a handful of people older than you in our class. It's never too late!

Hey, don't you guys have someone in your class who is older now than I was when I started?

P.S. What's chemistry?

 

[TooLove]

Hey, don't you guys have someone in your class who is older now than I was when I started?

P.S. What's chemistry?

Might be in the second year class.

 

[cmb9324]

1. You're not old. I know tons of people who started late in the vet school path.
2. Maybe you need to get a good tutor. I was completely horrible at chemistry and I got a good tutor and then I made straight A's in the rest of my chem classes. You might just need to re-think how you think!
3. If you want to be a vet, you should go for it! Don't take no for an answer, especially from yourself.

 

[Njnealon]

If the problem is around chemistry, I am actually a professional chem tutor and would love to help if I could! I found the course very difficult at first (withdrew in college), and then by teaching myself, and re-enforcing the math, it became better. What I learned teaching chemistry is that it isn't the subject people have difficulty grasping. It is usually the math, or trying to visualize a very abstract topic. Send me a message if you would like!!

 

[anesthtc]

I am interested in veterinary medicine (DVM) and am already 27 years old. I have done some prerequisites for the veterinary career path, but I am finding out that I am having a hard time with retaining information with science classes. Especially chemistry. I'm trying very hard, and at this point in my life would HATE to waste any more time trying to do something else. My dreams have always revolved around being a Veterinarian but I feel kind of defeated, my math skills are ok, not the best. I don't want to be a vet tech or assistant (nothing wrong with those but not my dream....) but, I know I would hate it. I want to one day own my own clinic and have my dreams of veterinary medicine come true...

Does anyone have any tips? I'm lost and I want to pick myself up and just do it......... Also, does anyone have any idea why Univ. Of Florida requires both Stats and Calc but most other schools you can choose either?

I think my goal is to go to St. Georges in Grenada or Ross because I would love to study abroad and just not have the added stress of cold weather etc.....

So if anyone is out there...please help....please don't be sarcastic, I really don't need that right now.

David

In all seriousness I'd say the top 3 things that made chemistry easier for me were: using a ton of funky mnemonics for information compression, a friend group that would get together really frequently to work on chemistry, and using wiki to learn more about topics in lecture.

 

[LetItSnow]

For chem (or physics, or, well, lots of sciency-stuff) - one good technique that can really help reinforce understanding and retention is taking the time to sit down and rephrase everything in YOUR OWN WORDS. Don't just read what a professor wrote and try and memorize that: your brain isn't wired for their choice of words/language. You need to internalize the concepts by restating them in words that make sense to you.

And, lecture to yourself out loud. If you can make a little mini-lecture out of each concept (pretend you're teaching someone else if you have to), I think you'll be surprised at how much your retention and mastery of the material will improve.

Last suggestion: Try and push yourself past what the prof is asking. Don't kill yourself doing it or spend TOO much time on it, because that becomes an inefficient use of time, but the most successful students in undergrad were the ones that spent the time doing more chem problems than just the ones assigned, because it forced them to really use the knowledge. The ones who did poorly did only the problems assigned and then counted on exactly similar problems on the exams. I found that by hunting up other problems in other textbooks (hint: library and a photocopier) it forced me to become more flexible with the information because I had to apply it.

I wouldn't beat yourself up if you struggle with chemistry. You aren't the first and won't be the last. You can still do fine in medicine.